Edvard Munch's The Scream

Very rare works of art resonate with the intensity of human emotions like Edvard Munch’s The Scream. The iconic painting is not just an ordinary image but a genuine experience capturing the essence of existential anxiety. Created in 1893, the work stemmed from a panic attack Munch had suffered in 1892 while roaming a path with his two companions in Oslo.

In his diary, he described how this mental episode occurred and inspired this work of art with those words: “The sun was setting and the clouds turned as red as blood. I sensed a scream passing through nature. I felt as though I could actually hear the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds like real blood. The colors shrieked” (Britannica). The core of the artwork, portraying a skull-shaped head, wide eyes, and flaring nostrils, depicts vividly the moment of existential panic and tension. 

The Scream is popular for many reasons but one of the significant ones is its universality. The art itself speaks to a primary human experience, an overwhelming and uncontrollable anxiety that appears suddenly, and we may experience it at any place and time.

There are many versions of the painting, including four colorful versions of The Scream. Two versions were made with tempera, and the other two versions were made with pastels and crayons. Edvard Munch also created a lithograph of the painting. Though it is not known exactly how many lithographs were printed, it is estimated that The Scream has about 30 more impressions. The six versions of these and his other works are exhibited in the National Museum of Norway. 

References

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Scream-by-Munch

https://smarthistory.org/munch-the-scream/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream

https://www.munchmuseet.no/en/our-collection/5-things-you-should-know-about-the-scream/